Digital Cameras - What To Look For

[gunsRbad]

Despite being somewhat of a computer buff, I'm ignorant when it comes to cameras.  What should I be looking for?  What is the average "megapixel" rating these days?  I'm not looking to spend a ton of cash, because this will just be for personal use while out camping/fishing/hunting or for family events.  I'm thinking 200-300 range, is that a reasonable amount to spend on a camera these days?

Thanks for the info

[bearfat]

Your going to get alot for that much money. My first 4.2 mp digital was $177.000 on sale. I have taken thousands of 35mm pictures and had a couple of shots published, one on a State of MN State Park calendar. But digital...oh how I wish I had taken an interest from day one with them.

I just got my second digital camera with 7.2mp and 12x zoom for $470.00. When you see what you can do in combination with your computer skills you will be amazed.

I have just a basic windows "Paint" software package with my computer but spend alot of time cropping, correcting and playing with my photo's there.

There's so many good camera's out there, just research and see what perks your interest. I would stay away from any internet site that seems to advertise a way too low price compared to the others. USA Photo Nation comes to mind, they also go by another name but just goggle up the first name you'll see more than enough unhappy customers (THOUSANDS). They just advertise a ridculous low price and then don't have it in stock, whatever...unless you buy the next step up package deal with them, which ends up being pretty much the same price as the other sites advertised. They throw in extra lens, tripods, camera cases etcetera. You will get good quality merchandise from them they just apparently work on commission and use good old sales tactics to make their sale. The problem is you already gave them your credit card number 24 hours earlier and were all cocky and bragging about your super deal you found to your friends when you find an email regarding a problem with your order and to call them!! Now your basically rehashing the price which irks most people and the deal really isn't a deal. Again the the product they sell is very good it's just their tactic sucks.

Get as much optical zoom as $300.00 will buy. Forget what they advertise as the digital zoom aspect of the camera, it is worthless. The optical zoom is what matters!

A plain old 4mp is quite enough for "GOOD" 8x10 pictures. You won't get more than 5x optical zoom with them but if you do it's worth it. My 4.2mp only has a 3x optical but it was a fine starter digital.

I'd upload some of my shots but apparently I've been cut off? Every forum I try to post a pic on says "folder full consult moderator"?

Under my avitar on left below Yogi is a little world icon that goes to my hunting cabin web site. You'll see both my 35mm and digital. Computers work well with digital but not scanned 35mm. I'm still looking for software to do my 35mm prints justice.

Your going to love digital!!!!

[quickdtoo]

Here are some of the best sources you'll find for digicam buying advice.

Tim

http://www.dpreview.com/

http://www.steves-digicams.com/

http://www.imaging-resource.com/

[dukkillr]

i agree with the above advice.  You should get as much optical zoom as you can for the money.  For wildlife and outdoor photography the zoom is everything.  I've got a Panasonic DMC-FZ7 with a 12x optical and 4x digital zoom.  It took this picture at about 40 yards.

[Gregory]

Consumer Reports rated this one a "best buy", and I plan on getting one before my trip to Yellowstone in Sept 2007.  Anyone have one of these:

http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/news/articles/story_3866.html

[Billybob]

While optical zoom is definitely important when looking for a digital camera you don't want to base your choice based solely on that.
A camera may have a high zoom but have poor image quality when in zoom mode. You first need to decide what type of camera will suit your needs. By that, I mean do you want a camera that has alot of bells & whistles and alot of manual overrides or do you want a simple camera that you can just point and shoot. I think ease of use is important when buying a camera.

If you don't plan on manually setting the shutter speed or aperture then a fully automatic 'point and shoot' camera may be all you need.
The bells & whistles are nice to have if you know how to use them but they also inflate the price of the camera. I think some people get carried away with getting a camera with the most options and then they don't use half those options.
I have several cameras and most often it's the simple point and shoot I take with me because it's small and fits in my backpack or jacket pocket.
Higher zoom and higher megapixels don't automatically mean better picture quality either. My advice is look thru camera reviews at imaging resource or steves digicams and look at their recommended cameras. Check out the sample photos that accompany the reviews and go from there. Good luck, you should find some nice cameras in your price range.